2007年VOA标准英语-Kenyan Officials Deny Reports of Arrest of Terr

By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
14 March 2007

Government officials in Kenya are vehemently¹ denying media reports that a man, believed to be a close associate of one of the three most wanted al-Qaida operatives in east Africa, has been arrested in the coastal² town of Mombasa. VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu reports from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi there are fears of a terrorist attack on an international sporting event beginning later this month in Mombasa.

In a written statement to the press, Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua says the government has not arrested and is not holding any suspect linked to any wanted terror suspects.

Mutua was refuting a report, which first appeared on Tuesday in the Kenyan Daily Nation newspaper.

The article alleged³ that in recent days, police in Mombasa have arrested a man identified as Abdulmalik Abdul Jabbar, who may have close ties with top al-Qaida suspect in east Africa Saleh Ali Nabhan.

Nabhan, a Mombasa native, is believed to have been involved in the 2002 suicide car bombing of an Israeli-owned hotel in the coastal city that killed more than a dozen people and a simultaneous, but unsuccessful, attempt to shoot down an Israeli airliner⁴.

The Daily Nation says the Mombasa police arrested the terrorist suspect at Fort Jesus, a tourist landmark⁵, after an attendant at a foreign currency exchange office called the police. The attendant is said to have mistook the suspect for Nabhan because he resembled the alleged terrorist.

The spokesman for the Kenyan police, Gideon Kibunja, tells VOA that the report is nonsense.

"We are not aware of that arrest," he said. "We do not have any idea where the Nation got that story and it is incorrect."

But from reliable sources in Mombasa, VOA has learned that a man, believed to be holding a Jordanian passport, was arrested at Fort Jesus in recent days and interrogated⁶ by local security officials.

The sources say the suspect was flown from Mombasa to Nairobi and questioned about an alleged terrorist plot, targeting next Saturday's World Cross Country Championship race in Mombasa.

A week ago, the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi issued a travel warning to its citizens, saying alleged extremist elements were threatening to disrupt the event. It is not clear whether the terror alert was in any way related to the arrest.

VOA has not been able to independently confirm Kenyan media reports that the man in custody⁷ was also questioned by U.S. officials and that he may now be in American custody.

After the 2002 bombing in Mombasa, al-Qaida suspect Saleh Ali Nabhan fled to Somalia. There, he linked up with two other al-Qaida operatives wanted in connection with the bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 and the attack on a U.S. Navy ship off the coast of Yemen in 2000.

All three terror suspects are said to have left the Somali capital, Mogadishu in late December, under the protection of radical⁸ leaders of the ousted⁹ Islamic Courts Union. They are believed to be hiding in an Islamist stronghold near Somalia's border with Kenya.

1 vehemently   

adv. 热烈地

参考例句：

• He argued with his wife so vehemently that he talked himself hoarse. 他和妻子争论得很激烈，以致讲话的声音都嘶哑了。
• Both women vehemently deny the charges against them. 两名妇女都激烈地否认了对她们的指控。

2 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

3 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

4 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

5 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

6 interrogated   

v.询问( interrogate的过去式和过去分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询

参考例句：

• He was interrogated by the police for over 12 hours. 他被警察审问了12个多小时。
• Two suspects are now being interrogated in connection with the killing. 与杀人案有关的两名嫌疑犯正在接受审讯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

8 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

9 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。